Why can't we automate using Warp stations?

[Furry Eskimo]

I was planning to make the bots send all the fruit, vegies, and meat through the item system to a main location, but they don't recognize the station.. Why? Moving one type of item at a time is basically pointless, unless it's being used by an automated system..

[Furry Eskimo]

Actually,, the more I try to use the automation, the more limit it seems..
eg. I can't tell them to collect hens, and leave some for breeding. I can't tell them to collect from ponds and ash pits at the same time, even though they're basically identical.. I can't tell them to move food through teleporters..

I wanted to make my farm more efficient by keeping the slimes in an easy to observe area, with food getting pumped in from all over, by instead we Need to keep the farms close to the slimes.. Also, the two bot per area limit Really limits automation.. like,, a lot..... :(

[purplecharmanderz]

The devs gave 2 reasons - one being "drones aren't meant to automate your ranch" (which given warp depots only allow automation of certain layouts, while drones automate other layouts without the aid of them, is a fairly empty statement. Add on the flip side with the fact the limitation conflicts with the game's story's theme.)

The second reason given is the issues with catch up - which is entirely logical given that is an absolute mess on the back end and numerous bugs already exist, adding warp depot and interaction with the other expansions is just asking for more issues if they don't want to entirely rewrite the catch up code.

[purplecharmanderz]

Originally posted by Furry Eskimo:

Actually,, the more I try to use the automation, the more limit it seems..
eg. I can't tell them to collect hens, and leave some for breeding. I can't tell them to collect from ponds and ash pits at the same time, even though they're basically identical.. I can't tell them to move food through teleporters..

I wanted to make my farm more efficient by keeping the slimes in an easy to observe area, with food getting pumped in from all over, by instead we Need to keep the farms close to the slimes.. Also, the two bot per area limit Really limits automation.. like,, a lot..... :(

The code auto tells them to leave some chickens for breeding so that's already handled. set the selection to free range and it will auto grab from ponds, natural ponds, and incinerators. Set to just ponds only grabs from artificial ponds.

[Furry Eskimo]

Well I'm glad to hear that about the ponds, incinerators, and chickens, but the whole thing regarding limited automation is still frustrating.. Games like Factorio can simulate MASSIVE systems with ease, but I can't send carrots through a single teleporter? I'm guessing this has to due with the way the game is calculating the system when you walk away, but if it's really that limited, well, it's a little strange..
Wild guess would be that the game mechanics for determining what happened while you're away from the farm were designed before automation was considered, so automation was added onto the system, and it wouldn't have been compatible.. Limiting the system to two bots ensures less complex calculations, and limiting automation to a section also ensures easier calculations, but wow, item teleportation is basically useless..

I know some slimes have favorite foods, and I was trying to make sure I had a little of everything available, with that may not be how this works..

[purplecharmanderz]

Originally posted by Furry Eskimo:

Well I'm glad to hear that about the ponds, incinerators, and chickens, but the whole thing regarding limited automation is still frustrating.. Games like Factorio can simulate MASSIVE systems with ease, but I can't send carrots through a single teleporter? I'm guessing this has to due with the way the game is calculating the system when you walk away, but if it's really that limited, well, it's a little strange..
Wild guess would be that the game mechanics for determining what happened while you're away from the farm were designed before automation was considered, so automation was added onto the system, and it wouldn't have been compatible.. Limiting the system to two bots ensures less complex calculations, and limiting automation to a section also ensures easier calculations, but wow, item teleportation is basically useless..

I know some slimes have favorite foods, and I was trying to make sure I had a little of everything available, with that may not be how this works..

Having read the code - lets just say catch up has issues handling things properly for what its designed for. Warp depots don't fit the mold and were added long before any consideration for automation seemed to be indicated on the code, and already have duplication glitch properties. Just trying to mix the two together already has a bunch of potential issues from a trials i've ran out of boredom.

[khw92206]

it still sucks

[Furry Eskimo]

Well that’s too bad, and generally frustrating..
Hopefully they’ve changed how resources are calculated in the second game, to allow for more complex automation. I find myself struggling to organize the farm, limited to two bots per area. I know limitations are important in some games, but I find myself more frustrated than challenged.

[Furry Eskimo]

Long story short, again, it feels very limited..
I’m growing fruit in one orchard, and since there are only four plots, I wanted to send the fruit to a storage area, where it would then be sent to a slime hutch.
That didn’t work, so instead I have a system moving wild chickens to an incinerator, which feeds fire slimes, and another bot is collecting the plots, but now there are three plots left doing nothing.. Maybe I could use them as backup storage, but it feels weird, and wrong..

(Spoilers)
Also, I think I just got dumped by the character’s lesbian gf due to the long distance? Is the game over? Seems like irks run out of steam, but there are still secret items to unlock, but why? If the game is supposed to have ended, what’s left to do? Decorate? I’m not very keen on grinding these collectors, just so I can unlock grass textures…

[cat hates cheese]

well i think drones are locked to the area that there in and they wont transport anything to another area, the best soultoin for me is to have drones put food in silos so i can easily grab the food and feed the slimes, or put it in a diffrent silo and set another drone to grab food from that silo and feed slimes, so all i have to do is make a quick trip between silos.

[Furry Eskimo]

I considered doing that, but it seems like a major waste of time, plus it limits the design possibilities. I just wanted to make a few different area that specialize in a form of production, then forward those items to either a storage location or item teleporter. If a bot could remove the items from the item teleporter, or allow me to remove the item, then the amount of walking required would drop considerably, and the whole farm would be more efficient. I dislike having to walk from area to area to area, refilling each and every drone with water. I want to be able to focus on the slimes and let the food handles with minimal input from me, since it's basically mindless labor.

[I Kinda Fail]

Originally posted by Furry Eskimo:

Actually,, the more I try to use the automation, the more limit it seems..
eg. I can't tell them to collect hens, and leave some for breeding. I can't tell them to collect from ponds and ash pits at the same time, even though they're basically identical.. I can't tell them to move food through teleporters..

I wanted to make my farm more efficient by keeping the slimes in an easy to observe area, with food getting pumped in from all over, by instead we Need to keep the farms close to the slimes.. Also, the two bot per area limit Really limits automation.. like,, a lot..... :(

My memory is fuzzy, but can't you have the drones only gather elder hens, so the breeding stock and babies are left alone? And can't you tell them to gather "all plorts in the area", so they'd grab them from both ponds and ash pits? Idk about the food/teleporter thing, as I've always just grown the food I need, next to the slimes that eat it...

[Furry Eskimo]

My years of experience with Factorio make me want to create specialized areas of production. Also, I just prefer keeping the areas themed, aka fruit, veggies, meat, slimes, and an area of backup materials

[romul]